• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

Saddleback

EPB

Active member
Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Messages
966
Points
28
I'd buy Peak if I were Vail. $93 million market cap for all those Midwest feeder hills and some cherries on top in the northeast sounds way more appealing.
 

drjeff

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
19,183
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn, CT
I'd buy Peak if I were Vail. $93 million market cap for all those Midwest feeder hills and some cherries on top in the northeast sounds way more appealing.

As much as I'm very happy with what Peak has done with Mount Snow since they bought it, and still is doing/planning to do with Mount Snow in the coming years, I'd be thrilled if Vail Resorts bought Peak for the reasons you listed, even if it means that Mount Snow would once again likely not be treated by the owners as their flagship resort, as Peak has been doing for the last 6 or 7 years now
 

EPB

Active member
Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Messages
966
Points
28
I know I've said this before, but it would be a great growth engine for the epic pass, which is how they lure families to drop the big bucks out west. No idea if it would ever happen, but I think there is good reason for Vail to do it.
 

Whitey

Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
454
Points
18
Location
Suburban sprawl north of Boston
I’m no finance guy, and even further from a real estate expert. But I have a really bad feeling about this one. I’d hate to see SB close because I have skied there several times and even rented a house up there a couple of seasons ago (just for a 1 week trip). I really love the area. But there are so many things that don’t seem to work for this.

The only way it’s viable is if they can increase the # of skier visits. Some have said the replacing the Rangeley double isn’t necessary. I couldn’t disagree more. Yes, you can get around it but that’s only if you want to ski off of the Kennebago quad. That’s the part of the mtn that interest me too, but I am an expert skier. The key to increasing skier visits is getting the beginner and intermediate skiers to ski your mountain. The Kennebago quad and the T-bar don’t do much for that skier group. Additionally, it’s not just about how long the lift lines are for the Rangeley – it’s also a lot about how long the ride is. Good god it is that a long, slow, and usually very cold, ride. It's even worse after standing in line for 10-15 min. Also you have to throw in the bad publicity that SL has gotten for the safety of older lifts in Maine, yikes - it's a 51 yr old lift. I’m no expert, but I think that if your goal is increasing skier visits – the Rangeley double is a deal-breaker.

The other part to increase skier visits you’d have to do more with the base area. The lodge is fine, actually very nice. But there’s not much else. That’s more $.

At a time when skier visits are either plateaued or only marginally increasing – where are the add’l visits going to come from? It’s too far from any major population centers. So, to me, the only way they could increase visits significantly would be to take skiers away from SR and SL. How does SB compete with those areas with all they have for amenities, lodging, and familiarity? Even if they somehow find the $ to follow the “own the real estate, use the improved ski area to attract buyers/renters, make $ off of the real estate” plan that others have used – are there really enough people that they could pull in or steal from SL & SR to for that to work?

So, not much chance of a new chair, unlikely to have or find the $ to improve base area and lodging, and I can’t see how they can steal skiers from SR & SL w/out those first two improvements. About their only chance is to find deep pockets person/company that would be willing to lose money on the resort. I think that person/company is standing next to a unicorn.

And throw in that there potentially a new "major resort" coming up with the Balsams, more competition for skier visits.

I think I will shed a tear when I read the “Saddleback” page on NELSAP in a few years. I wish I didn't think that but can't seem to escape that conclusion.
 

catsup948

New member
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
1,026
Points
0
Location
Shelburne Falls, MA
I actually think besides prices going up Saddleback would benefit from being bought by Vail. New lift and any other improvements would likely happen right away.
 

bigbog

Active member
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
4,882
Points
38
Location
Bangor and the state's woodlands
Agree with catsup948 on deeper pockets handling things...they may be able to see more of the forest from the trees...than the present, including SL as well...y/n? The idea that all New England ski resorts have to be groomed out bowling alleys is so ludicrous. Skiers can ski any resort if there's one main lift to the top of each peak...
 
Last edited:

salsgang

Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
821
Points
18
Location
Southern Coastal Maine
PS - I think my last post just killed Salsgang. Can someone go by his house and check on him for me?

Haha I am still here. Not much new to report. For whatever reason they are in radio silence and all we all can do is speculate.

I agree there are only so many skiers to go around. SB is behind the 8 ball in a very tough spot. I imagine we will know soon but I have been saying that for a few weeks!
 

SkiFanE

New member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Messages
1,260
Points
0
Location
New England
Agree with catsup948 on deeper pockets handling things...they may be able to see more of the forest from the trees...than the present, including SL as well...y/n? The idea that all New England ski resorts have to be groomed out bowling alleys is so ludicrous. Skiers can ski any resort if there's one main lift to the top of each peak...
You could be onto somethjg. The biggest complaint about SR is their obsession with grooming. I hate it but it's still my home mountain, I get around it lol. If some western resort could leave SB in a more natural state and advertise it as the natural snow playground of the east type place, hmmmmm could work. Only been there once but it was amazing in Casablanca after 18" of fresh and I was astounded by the amount of snow the mountain had. Yeah, nice to dream.... I really hope they can do something - hate to see it close.
 

thetrailboss

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
32,337
Points
113
Location
NEK by Birth
I guess the whole threat about closing turned out to be just a bluff. Seems to me that they're losing credibility every day. Hopefully this gets all worked out and the lifts are spinning this year.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone
 

joshua segal

Active member
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
991
Points
43
Location
Southern NH
Website
skikabbalah.com
There has been active communication between Saddleback's management and the condo owners. To the credit of that population, it is clear they have not leaked it to the general public.
 

cdskier

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
6,414
Points
113
Location
NJ
Knowing Joshua's posts over the years and the way he wrote this one....IMHO, the answer to your question is a resounding yes.

Agreed. I don't see why Joshua would leak anything when he's praising others for not doing so.

A tiny bit off-topic, but I was doing some cleaning yesterday and found some old ski magazines and started skimming through a couple. One from 2006 had an article about 10 great ski instructors in the US. One that caught my eye was a guy named "Joshua Segal" who at the time taught at Ragged, NH. I said to myself, "I know that name from a ski forum online". Same Joshua Segal as the one that posts here?
 

prsboogie

Active member
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
1,764
Points
38
Location
Swansea
A tiny bit off-topic, but I was doing some cleaning yesterday and found some old ski magazines and started skimming through a couple. One from 2006 had an article about 10 great ski instructors in the US. One that caught my eye was a guy named "Joshua Segal" who at the time taught at Ragged, NH. I said to myself, "I know that name from a ski forum online". Same Joshua Segal as the one that posts here?

To continue off topic, are you still instructing, say at Crotched?

Back on topic, I have a good friend at work who owns at SB and she is as tight lipped as it gets. I've asked several times what's going on and I just get, " we'll see what happens"! WTF! 😤
 
Top